Maintaining accurate control and placement of a guidewire during a medical interventional procedure is essential. Present torque devices used to accomplish this task require excessive manipulation with more than one hand or excessive force parallel to the guide wire axis in order to correctly position the device. This can divert the attention of the interventionalist during the procedure and increase the chance of unwanted movement of the wire in the patient, which could lead to complications.
The current devices require release of the secure hand position on the guidewire in order to adjust the positioning of the torque device. These moments of release of the guidewire could result in unexpected advancement or retraction of the guidewire that could lead to problems during the procedure
As can be seen, there is a need for an improved torque devices for guidewires. This apparatus should permit blind one-handed operation and not require substantial force in a direction parallel to the guidewire axis to manipulate.